I can’t help but notice how some have seized on the anniversary of the events of 9/11/2001 to further their own agendas, stir up anger and fear, and — to my dismay — even to sell products. Look, I’m a marketer. I believe in entrepreneurship. But I think it’s far beneath any of us to […]
Internet Business
How Many Ideas Have You Killed?
Did you ever have a “great idea” for a business or a project, and then “think it to death”? In other words, turn it over in your mind until the shine was off it, and you were no longer excited about it? What happens next is… you don’t follow through on the idea, right? It […]
Dear Postmaster – Please Stop This
The United States Post Office is not having its greatest year. The venerable organization is struggling in the face of alternative delivery mechanisms like email, instant messenger, and a general decline in letter-writing. They need some innovation to bring in more sales. They’re trying harder. I get that. And I applaud it. But… Lately I’ve […]
How to Annoy Your Customers
Sometimes our great marketing ideas backfire. Warner Brothers Video, for instance, had what they must have thought was a great idea. On the Netflix DVD of Sherlock Holmes, you can’t skip to the menu without watching about 20 minutes of commercials. Now, that might have seemed like a great idea to the gang in the […]
Get Rich Quick
The phrase “get rich quick” seems to be used as if it is synonymous with “scam” or “rip off”. Yet it isn’t necessarily so. If we mean “scam” or “rip off”, we should say those things. But there is nothing inherently wrong with getting rich quick, is there? I mean, which would you prefer: get […]